Improvement in sleeping-car berths



w. B. SNOW. Sleeping Car- Berth.

N0.103,097! Patented May .17, 1870-.-

wm swfi \NV ENFVOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. SNOW, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SLEEPING-CAR BERTHS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 103,097, dated May 17,1870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM B. SNOW, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Sleeping-(JarBerth; and I do declare that the following is a full and accuratedescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, and being a part of Ithis specification, in which my device is shown in perspective.

The nature of this invention relates to. an

improved method of hanging the upper berth of sleeping-cars; andconsists in a coiled spring within a drum, around which a cord passes,one end of which is secured near the front of the berth, which ishinged, in the usual manner, to the side of the car, the whole arrangedso that the spring acts as a counterbalance to the berth, as more fullyhereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, represents a section of one side of asleeping-car, to which is hinged, in the usual manner, the

berth B, so that when closed its lower side forms a part of the ceilingof the car. Cords C are fastened at one end at or near the front of theberth, and at each end thereof, and thence are led over and around thedrums D,

which rotate within suitable yokes E, which are secured to thecar, asshown in the drawings. Within these drums, and around the axis thereof,are coiled suitable springs, secured to the drums in such a manner thatwhen the berth is let down to a position at right angles with thevertical Walls of the car said springs will be tightly coiled around theaxis of the drum, and when the berth is put up the coil of the springwill be loosened and exert less power. F are jointed rods, one endsecured to the car'and the opposite end to the front of the berth, asshown, which sustain the berth when in a horizontal position. 7

I do not wish to confine myself exactly to the device as shown; forinstance, the drums may be conical in form, or a single spring may beused, secured to the ceiling of the car over the center of the berth,with cords leading therefrom to and over pulleys placed where the drumsare shown, and thence to the front of the berth.

This application is designed to be an improvement upon the patentgranted to me on the 25th day of February, 1868.

What 1 claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- The combination of the drum D, provided with a coiled spring in itsinterior, and the cord 0, one end of which is wound around said drum,and the other end is secured to the front of the berth, when constructedas described, and arranged to operate as and for the purpose set forth.

Y W. B. SNOW.

Witnesses:

GEo. V. MANCHESTER, SAM. B. BARTLETT.

